Wuthering Waves CBT2 Tier List: A 2026 Retrospective
Wuthering Waves Resonator tier list offers a comprehensive, objective review and build guide for DPS and support roles.
Welcome to my preliminary report on all Wuthering Waves Resonators — a snapshot I first assembled from theorycrafting and playtesting during Closed Beta II (CBT2), which ran from February 19, 2024 to March 17, 2024. The game would launch globally on May 22, 2024, and I knew even then that this tier list would undergo a big reconstruction as soon as possible. Now, in 2026, looking back at these early rankings feels like opening a time capsule. Does that make the list useless? Not at all. It shows how far the meta has traveled and why early theorycrafting is always a living document.
Why revisit a beta tier list in 2026? Because context matters. I understand tier lists such as these can be highly controversial. My ultimate goal was to do a complete, objective review with more detailed explanations and build guides on each character so everything has better context on why characters are rated this way. We will see you there, Rovers!
Main DPS Tier: The CBT2 Ranking
| Tier | Resonator | CBT2 notes |
|---|---|---|
| S | Jiyan | Top-tier main DPS in the early CBT2 meta. |
| S | Calcharo | Another premium damage dealer with high ceiling. |
| S | Danjin * | Gets a lot of base stats and just works really well without much effort. |
| A | Encore | Extremely good, just lacks the supports that other characters have. |
| A | Lingyang | Solid but not quite at the S-tier damage pace. |
| A | Chixia | Good damage option in the early roster. |
| B | Rover | Playstyle option, not as good as their original intent as a sup-dps. |
| B | Rover | Same issue as the other Rover variant in this role. |
| B | Yinlin | Listed as a playstyle option here, but her real value sat elsewhere. |
What did this table tell me? It told me that raw main DPS was already king in CBT2. Jiyan, Calcharo, and Danjin formed the damage core, while Encore waited for better support options. The asterisk beside Danjin mattered because she did not need a perfect team to perform. That kind of flexibility is rare, and it is exactly why early testers kept her high.
Sub-DPS and Support Tier: The Engine Room
| Tier | Resonator | CBT2 notes |
|---|---|---|
| S | Yinlin | Best when it comes to dealing quick damage, regenerating energy and buffs. |
| S | Sanhua | Also best for quick damage, energy regeneration and buffs. |
| A | Mortefi | Strong outro synergy, especially compared with Aalto for Jiyan. |
| A | Rover | Only Rover's damage is actually good in this context. |
| A | Rover | Same caveat as the other Rover variant. |
| A | Chixia | Useful, but not a top support engine. |
| B | Yuanwu | Lacked the tools to be a best-in-slot option. |
| B | Aalto | Outro is not as good for Jiyan as Mortefi, damage is really low, other utilities really suck, and he has nothing going on for him with the current cast realistically. |
| B | Yangyang | Does not really make for a best option in any team. |
This was the section that made me question early team building the most. If Yinlin and Sanhua were already the best at quick damage, energy regeneration, and buffs, why were so many other units struggling to find a home? The answer was simple: the CBT2 roster was small, and support slots were brutally competitive. Aalto, for example, could not justify himself beside Mortefi for Jiyan. Yangyang, meanwhile, did not really make for a best option in any team. Rover had damage, but the same could not always be said for their utility.
Healer and Sustain Tier: Comfort Wins
| Tier | Resonator | CBT2 notes |
|---|---|---|
| S | Verina | Most flexible support due to stacking buffs that can fit in any team. |
| S | Baizhi | Also highly flexible. Even if you have Verina, building Baizhi is super useful for a strong 2nd team. |
| A | Jianxin | Liberation buff is decent, and her damage can be decent with good swap canceling. |
| A | Taoqi | Good but not as universally flexible as Verina or Baizhi. |
| B | Rover | S4 allows them to heal the party after ulting. |
| B | Rover | The heal sucks. It heals for 100% of Rover's total attack, which should be around 2k. Since you do not even build healing bonus%, the heal is really minimal and does not really make Rover a sustainer. |
Can a healer tier list be controversial? In Wuthering Waves, absolutely. Verina and Baizhi were the most flexible supports because their stacking buffs could fit in any team. Even if I already had Verina, building Baizhi was super useful for a strong second team. Jianxin offered a decent liberation buff and respectable damage with good swap canceling. Taoqi was solid, but not as universal. Rover's S4 party heal sounded better on paper than it was in practice: it healed for 100% of Rover's total attack, around 2k, and without healing bonus% investment, it was really minimal. It did not really make Rover a sustainer.
What This CBT2 List Means in 2026
In 2026, I would not treat this as a live guide. I would treat it as a historical baseline. Wuthering Waves launched globally on May 22, 2024, and the live meta has been rebuilt many times since. New Resonators, new echoes, new team archetypes, and balance changes have all moved the goalposts. Yet the core lessons from this preliminary report still hold: main DPS defines clear speed, supports define comfort, and flexible buffers age extremely well. Isn't that exactly what a preliminary report should teach us? Yes. That is why I still keep this CBT2 snapshot close. We will see you there, Rovers!